Roy Wood Jr.got plenty of laughs as host of the2023 White House Correspondents' Dinneron Saturday night, as he poked fun atTucker Carlson’s exit from Fox News andDon Lemon’s exit from CNN.
TheDaily Showcomedian did not hold bak in his speech, telling the audience at the Washington Hilton that “scandal” had been a unifying factor recently. “Scandals have been devouring careers this year,” Wood said.
Roy Wood Jr.Paul Morigi/Getty
Wood went on to compare the controversy surrounding Carlson’s exit tothe breakup of Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix, after he was caught in an affair with their costar Raquel Leviss.
“Tucker got caught up. Got caught up like that dude fromVanderpump Rules,” Wood joked. “I don’t know whatVanderpump Rulesis about, I’ve watched it a couple of times. My friends told me it’s likeBMFbut for white people. Or is thatSuccession? No,SuccessionisPowerfor white people. No, Tucker Carlson isPowerfor white people. No, that’s white power — you know what, nevermind.”
“We gotta get Tucker Carlson back on the air, mister president, because right now, there’s millions of Americans who don’t even know why they hate you,” Wood added.
Tucker Carlson.Janos Kummer/Getty
That’s when Wood turned his material on to Lemon, calling him an “a——” too.
“Don Lemon released a statement saying he got fired from CNN, then CNN released a statement saying they offered Don a meeting,” said Wood. “They had to part ways because Don Lemon can’t even accurately report a story about Don Lemon!”
Roy Wood Jr., Don Lemon, Tucker Carlson.Noam Galai/Getty, Taylor Hill/WireImage, AP/REX/Shutterstock
“I still think that Don deserved more, CNN. That ain’t how you fire someone,” said Wood. “How funny is it that you work in the news, then watch on the news how you got fired from the news? Don Lemon is now the most obnoxious guy in the history of CNN, that’s not fair! EvenJeffrey Toobinlooking at Don Lemon like, ‘Ooh he rubbed me the wrong way.’ "
“Letting Don go was the wrong move,” added Wood. “You shouldn’t have let him go, not this soon. … You don’t fire your host after the first couple of scandals. The scandals got to stack up. You gotta get the ratings. Yes, Don Lemon was a diva and he said a couple of women were raggedy in the face. But that’s a promotion at Fox News!”
Saturday’s dinner came just days after Carlson and Lemon — two of cable news' most prominent figures — were pulled from their respective on-air slots on Monday morning.
Both departures were announced within an hour of each other. Carlsonabruptly left Fox Newswithout even a farewell show, while Lemon wasterminated from CNN.
Shortly after news of the shocking media shakeups broke, Wood joked in a Twitter exchange that he was going to have torewrite his comedy setfor the high-profile dinner.
“Pretty sure @roywoodjr is updating his remarks/roast for the White House Correspondents' dinner this coming Saturday,” MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasanwrote on TwitterMonday — to which Wood, 44,replied, “‘Updating?’ Man I gotta throw out the whole damn script.”
Joe Biden.SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty
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Wood was announced as the host of the annual event in February, saying in a statement at the time, “It’s an honor to be a part of a long-running tradition of celebrating those members of the media, who work so hard to uncover the truth, and hold our government accountable. It will be a great night that will go down in the history books, or not, depending on which state you live in.”
Meanwhile, Wood wasn’t the only one to joke about Carlson and Lemon on Saturday. President Bidenalso included jabs at the two’s expense in his speech— though directly plenty of his jokes inward, too,making fun of longstanding criticisms of his age.
“I believe in the First Amendment,” he said. “Not just because my good friend Jimmy Madison wrote it.”
source: people.com
